What do these coppers actually do?

Our correspondent writes ...

The more I see of the Metropolitan Police under Sir Ian Blair's leadership, the more I worry about the future if Blair gets his way with county
forces being merged into larger constabularies, which presumably may come under the control of one Blair or the other.

But when I see masked Muslim extremists parading on London's streets threatening death to anyone who insults Islam, I expect our police force
to arrest everyone involved. Indeed, I believe we should have laws that say if a man masks his face in public it will be assumed he is a
terrorist. As a result, he risks being shot by armed police marksmen.

What I do not expect to see is a couple of half-innocent leaflet distributors being arrested whilst the masked men are merely observed from a
distance. But I should, of course, expect such a response because the arrested persons are easy targets ... and they're not Muslims whom we must
not offend at any costs.

Later we hear that the police will study the video tapes and track down the demonstrators. How? Most were masked.

No doubt the police have some super-sophisticated computer system that will remove
the masks from the video tape and reveal the demonstrators' true identities so arrests should soon follow. But if the police e-fit compiled
recently in Stalham, Norfolk is anything to go by, I suspect the police might raid London Zoo and arrest some monkeys.

I have a number of friends who are serving police officers in another force far removed from London. They are hard-working, dedicated men and I
have a great deal of sympathy for them because they get little backing from the courts when they take rogues for punishment and they get no
backing at all from the immigration service when they report illegal immigrants and asylum seekers who are operating businesses in contravention
of British law.

Although I live in London, I don't actually know any Metropolitan police officers. I'm not even sure I would recognise one if I saw one but I
suspect they may be the boy racers who traverse the borough's streets at high speeds with lights flashing and sirens howling. Not much chance of
getting a meeting with them like you could when the beat officer rode a pushbike with sit-up-and-beg handlebars!

Conversely, I think it's more likely that observant police officers know me because I believe I may be the only driver in the south-east who
uses a hands-free mobile phone kit. Such requirements don't seem to apply to women drivers or white van men, though they might be exempt as their
vehicles do bear a passing resemblance to police riot vans.

The police image portrayed to the public (in the absence of a noticeable street presence) is mainly the reports in the local newspaper. It
seems they spend much of their time presenting gongs to staff at the town hall. The rest of the time they're receiving gongs from the staff at the
town hall. Quite what these mutually-congratulatory awards are for I haven't managed to figure out but it can't be anything to do with crime
reduction because that's only a figment of the senior officer's imagination.

I did once get a chance (so I thought) to learn more about the workings of the Met when an officer visited my house
in response to a complaint I had made. Unfortunately, he was drunk.

Editorial Comment:

Naturally, there are duties the Metropolitan Police perform admirably ... like guarding the Prime Minister's residence at 10
Downing Street. Click the image on the left to see how many officers were allocated to this task during a peaceful climate control march in
December 2005.

Visitors' Comments

AR, Sheffield writes:

It is so sad that our once proud and efficient Police Force is now a tool for our Political Masters and it's not
only the Metropolitan Police. I have seen and witnessed many acts of violence by South Yorkshire Police. I myself have been attacked for my
opinions and for complaining when I see injustice.

Not to mention the fact that our local team comes under the auspices of the Local MP, David Blunkett. This man encourages these acts of violence.
This is the Republic of South Yorkshire with Sheffield as the capital. Sheffield is a Labour stronghold - the H.Q for the labour cult. The
residents are mostly a brainwashed society that will always vote for the same old brigade. If Sadam himself was here they would have voted for him
if he was labour.

Just recently my nephew was assaulted by the police when they came into my home uninvited. I rang for an ambulance and they came in force. My
nephew has no police record for dishonesty or drugs but he has now been attacked three times just because he lives with me - three times he has
been made to suffer for what I do. The Police are so corrupt.

I have always asked, "WHO POLICES THE POLICE." They are out of control. Not for the first time, my home has been attacked and damaged by the
police and I am sure it will happen again. I am a 62 year old disabled man; a "once" conservative but no longer political, living in the heart of
Blunkett's land, governed by Blunkett's police force.

TM, London writes:

I totally agree with AR from Sheffield's comments about the Police and my sympathies go out to him and his family. Its disgusting the way some
coppers behave!

I recently joined the ranks of innocent citizen who has been treated badly by the police - the met police to be precise. My crime? I scrutinise my
local council and related bodies on a few web blogs. They don't like it when their dirty linen is washed in public. So the council hatch a plan to
get me arrested on bogus harassment charges. The copper who arrested me gave the game away.

Not only was I unlawfully arrested, the awfully nice copper who arrested me, unbeknown to me, broke into the sealed evidence bag of my belongings
that was being held in the custody area, took my door keys, went to my home and stole (I use the word stole because that is exactly what he did do
in my view) my laptop and old pc tower!

Apparently, the property he stole from my home was taken as 'evidence' to a crime. What crime??? I hadn't committed one! I do wonder how many
other innocent people this rotten egg has stitched up - what a disgrace!

Ken Power, Elsworth writes:

How very sad what but can we do?

"Many men stumble across the truth ... but most manage to pick themselves up and continue as if nothing had happened."